Hell on Earth
by staceycj
Summary: Most likely AU. He didn't think his brother would survive the apocalypse much less be ready to fight the ultimate fight.
1. Chapter 1

The command center was a wreck, it tended to stay a wreck through most of the day, as the two generals in the army dispensed orders, and set the researchers to work finding any and all information they could on the enemy, and sent the soldiers out into the field. And there were always returning soldiers, either with new survivors or news, they always hoped for both. However, at night, the encampment was quiet, disturbingly so. And Dean Winchester spent his time searching for the demon's leader, the man who he used to take care of, the man who used to love him, the man that used to be his brother.

When the camp went quiet and the howling wind over head was the only thing to be heard, Dean sat down in the war room and looked over the map of the country, he looked at the reports given by the combatants, and for the millionth time tried to figure out where the enemy's headquarters were located. Dean's eye was trained to look for patters, trained to look for anomalies, trained to be a soldier, a general, trained to be the best damn hunter in the world, and he was dong his best, to find the command center for the freaks of nature that took over his world, destroyed all of the children, destroyed the beauty that had been humanity, all of the innocence and reduced his world to strategies, weapons, survivors, death, soldiers, and rations.

"You seein' anything?" Bobby asked softly from the doorway. Dean's shoulders hunched and he shook his head.

"No. Sammy's smart. He'll know I'm looking for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he has it mobile." Bobby nodded and stood next to the boy and peered over the map along side of him.

"Looks like there is less activity in Iowa than the rest of the country." Bobby said pointing to the state.

"Yeah, but there is also less activity in Montana and New York. And of course each area has significant battles all around it, indicating that there must be some kind of supply or some kind of base for the demons to go to and regroup."

"Maybe there are three different command centers." Bobby said.

"I thought of that as well, but then again, Sammy knows I'll think that and he's doing it on purpose." Dean sighed and ran a hand over his face and then crossed his arms. "Did Dawson find anything when he scouted out in Indiana?"

"He radioed in not too long ago, said that something was going on, that it looked like the demons were up to something, but that they caught his scent and he booked it out."

"Evasive maneuvers?" Dean asked.

"Set two."

"So he got away?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Said he'll be back here in a day or so."

"Any sign of Ruby?"

"No. No sign of her. Odds are Sam is keeping her close."

"Probably doesn't let her off the leash very often. Marks was the last one to see her?"

"Yeah."

"And that was a month ago?"

"Yeah." Dean took a deep breath. "How is the weaponry coming? We getting closer?"

"I think so. Not sure. The holy water guns are doing the trick, they are keeping the demons at bay while the soldiers get them taken care of. Sampson came back today with two people who he had managed to save and exorcise."

"They take them to the testing room?"

"Yeah. They survived and they aren't demons. They are being branded right now. No more demon possession for them."

"We are recovering fewer and fewer humans every day Bobby. Remember when our people could go out and save several people a day. We are running out of resources."

"Emily mentioned that the women ware willing to start having children to replace the fallen."

"Children don't need to be brought into this mess. We don't need children to grow up in a world without sunshine, in a world where hell swirls around them day and night. No. I don't' think we should."

"But…we are running out of people. You said so yourself. Ruby and Sam are killing more of them then sparing."

"We aren't animals. We can't be making children just to put guns in their hands when they are twelve."

"Dean, we have to. We need to. We can't survive this, we can't last much longer without another generation of people to take over the fight."

"Then maybe we aren't meant to win this."

"What is with you today Dean? This isn't like you."

"Nothing Bobby."

"I think the women have the right idea."

"Bobby."

"Dean. It needs to be done. We need to order the women to start making children. We have to lift the celibacy order."

"You can really want to create life and put them in this? What if they aren't born like we are? What if they are born soulless. It isn't like there are angels, or hell even God anymore. All there is, is destruction, misery and despair."

"Every human being has a soul, and I for one believe that God is still out there."

Dean turned to Bobby sharply. "How can you believe that? He's the one who started this mess. He ordered Castiel to let Sam out of the chains, he ordered Sam to be freed. How can you say God exists?"

"Because you are standing right in front of me arguing that children shouldn't be raised in a world like this. Because every day we have people out there fighting on the field to be able to go back to their lives, to be able to save the world from the evil. I believe that God is out here fighting with us every single day, he is just fighting through us Dean. And if having children will help us in the long run, then I think we should do it. We need more people Dean. It won't be too much longer before we won't be able to save anyone out there anymore. The demons are really wearing the hell out of their meat suits, and they are enjoying it. It won't be too much longer." Dean looked down and sighed.

Dean saw the logic in the older man's argument and it frustrated him. "Okay. Fine. But we have to come up with a reasonable and smart way of doing this. We have to avoid inbreeding. We have to keep track of who is sleeping with who and which child is born. Let the women come up with a schedule." Dean gave a sad chuckle and his big green eyes came face to face with Bobby's. "I can't believe that my life has come to this. It used to be so simple. Find the monster, kill it, move on, have a beer with Sammy. Now I'm deciding when and if people should have children to repopulate the Earth. My God. I'm not cut out for this Bobby."

"You were." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He shifted is feet a little and sighed. "Tell them in the morning. We'll see what's what then." Bobby put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"You're doing good boy. All of these people are alive and safe because of you. You're doing good boy." Bobby left Dean to the map and his thoughts.

"Doing good now. But if I hadn't been a weak little baby, the world would be fine, and there wouldn't need to be a discussion about making children. If I had just saved Sam. If I had just killed Sam." He mumbled and putting his hands on the table and peering at the map.

"Come out, come out wherever you are Sammy."


	2. Hell's Army

The King of the demons leaned over his map of the United States, plotting and planning a new attack on the humans, led up by his brother. The man who had raised him and allowed him to become this thing, this half human, half demon entity. It was because of his brother's weakness, his inability to kill him when he had been asked, that had allowed hell to rise up and allow the demons to take over and conquer the Earth and all of its inhabitants.

The first thing Sam did, while the power was still fresh, and the evil felt so good, and gave him such a rush of power and strength, was to allow Lilith and those like her to feast, feast on that which they loved the most, the tender soft flesh of children. It solidified his status as leader of the demons and it also ensured that there would be no more future children made, and therefore, the human race would die out in time. One of Dean's many weaknesses was children, and Sam made sure that his brother had witnessed the slaughter and subsequent feasting on the children, and ensured that Dean could hear their screams. The look on his brother's face that day verified the complete decimation of Dean Winchester's character, psyche, and soul.

At least he thought so about a year ago. He didn't plan on any human other than his brother to survive the mess, but some hunters had, and he and the demons met them along the way, some escaped, and some perished at his hands, and were now being used a hosts for his army.

Just two months ago, he found out, rather by accident, that Dean was still very much alive, and was leading an army of humans. The humans snuck up on several of his demons, who were out and about relishing in the hellish day and their freedom, when a battalion of humans ambushed them, destroyed those demons that they could and exorcised as many as possible, and burned the meat suits of the rest, leaving some of his flock disembodied.

Sam never once figured that his brother would survive the rise of hell. Sam witnessed what exactly hell on earth meant for Dean Winchester, and Sam was positive that when they started this mess, that Dean would be just one of the many casualties of the adjustment. But damn if he hadn't survived, and not only that, but actually created an army out of a group of rag tag hunters and whatever human survivors they could find. What was worse, was that a force of supernatural beings couldn't take out this small insignificant group of humans.

"Sammy?" Ruby asked as she entered his war room.

"What?" He snapped.

"You've been pouring over this map for hours now." She purred and rested her head against his back.

"I have to find him." When they first found out that dean was leading the army Sam immediately sent an army of demons to Bobby's place, but what he found was nothing but the Singer home in flames, empty shells of cars a blaze along with the house that once Sam had considered a home. Fire burned within Sam and he decided then and there that he would finish off his brother and his army; Dean was making him look weak in front of his newly acquired army, making him look human, and feeble.

"You'll find him Sammy."

"You said that you saw one of his people a month ago?" he questioned looking closer at the map.

"Yeah, I saw a girl, she was hurrying through what was left of a field and she was beating feet, she had to be running to her command center."

"Which state was that?"

"South Dakota."

"He wouldn't stay there."

"Are you sure the fire just wasn't a front?"

"Yes, I'm sure. If Dean was going to burn down Bobby's house then he wasn't ever going to come back." Sam paused and looked closer at South Dakota like it was going to wave a hand and point him to where his brother was currently. "I know him." He said softly.

"Maybe you know him about as well as he knows you."

_He knows me! Dean knows me! _screamed a little voice in his head, and Sam pushed it down until the sounds were extinguished.

"Dean has always been predictable." He mumbled to himself. "Double bacon cheeseburger, french fries, coke. Coat off, boots unlaced, taken off, left beside the bed closest to the door, and duffel taken into the bathroom where it takes him less than ten minutes to shower and dress for bed. Dial soap, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Crest Whitening Toothpaste, red toothbrush." He rambled, determined to show Ruby that he knew his brother's habits better than he knew his own.

"Sure, that was when that stuff still existed. But Sam, he has to have changed. You can't keep looking for him as if he were the same Dean that you grew up with. Things have changed. Hell is now on earth, I mean come on Sammy."

"I'll find him. Don't you worry. I'll find him." He rested his arms on the map in front of him. Ruby sighed and turned to walk away.

"I'll be in our room. It's about time for your medicine." She said with a seductive smile. Her smile wasn't seen, his back faced her and his mind was focused on finding his brother and his army.

"Come out come out where ever you are Dean." He mumbled.


	3. Meadow

Dean sighed as he began his routine walk through the encampment. He stopped first into the medical ward and checked on his charges. Currently there weren't many people in the medical ward, which was a blessing. A month or so ago the place was full of wounded, Hell Hounds were let loose on a small group of his people who were trying to get into a supermarket. They were still able to retrieve non-perishable items, and they usually came back with at least some flour and sugar, something, anything that they could make food from and be able to live another month in their underground salt mine.

But last month, Sam unleashed an attack on Dean's people, let hell hounds loose on them, and because they weren't prepared, didn't have the hex bags that threw hell hounds off of their scent, two people were killed and the other ten were injured. They lost two of the ten that returned, too much blood loss, and they were still low on medical equipment. Sam managed to destroy a lot of that. Both men had been trained in military tactics, and Sam had learned his lessons far better than Dean had ever imagined.

Dean made his rounds to each of the injured and made sure that they were okay, checked on their progress, and uttered reassuring words. Dean had learned a lot since he watched his brother open the last seal. Watched as he accepted Lucifer as his own personal God, watched as his eyes turned a cool black, and watched as his brother morphed into a demon and someone he had to fight.

"Dean. The scouts are back." Bobby said shaking Dean from his thoughts.

"What?"

"The scouts, they're back."

"Oh. Okay."

"Where is your head boy?"

Dean snorted. "Where it always is."

"With Sam?"

"You would think that after seeing him become what he became, I wouldn't care what happened to him."

"He's your bother."

"No. My brother died over a year ago."

"Sam is still there."

"No." Dean said adamantly. "He's not." Bobby knew that this conversation was going to go, and he knew in no uncertain terms that Dean wasn't about to believe that Sam might still be in there, might be trying to fight his way back to Dean, might be trying to overpower the demon blood that was coursing through his veins.

"What did they find?" Dean asked after Bobby sighed,

"They came back with some food and medical supplies."

"Good. That means that Sam hasn't totally obliterated everything on the face of the planet."

"No. From what one of the scouts said there is a meadow in the neighboring state, that seems to be completely untouched by the demons or the ravages of hell."

Dean's brows drew together in confusion. "A meadow?"

"Yeah. Apparently complete with deer."

"Is there a stream?"

"Yeah, a small one. One of them said that it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen." Bobby snorted. "But I guess that's relative. Anderson said that it seemed real enough, it looked like it had always been there, and that everywhere around it was burnt or destroyed, but that little meadow was perfect, and untouched. They came back and wanted to know if they could go in little groups and just look." Dean knew this place. He and Sam stopped by this particular meadow the year before he went to Hell. Sam had said something pansy like 'isn't this the most beautiful place on Earth?' and Dean had begrudgingly agreed. It had been beautiful, and he thought that if he got out of the deal that he would have to go back and sit by the banks with Sam and fish and have a beer. Sam made a place that would draw Dean, a place that reminded him of brotherhood of friendship, of family. Sam was playing him, playing on his weakness, his baby brother. It wasn't going to work this time.

"It sounds perfect." He said slowly. Bobby nodded understanding his point.

"Too perfect."

"Yes. Sam's trying to draw us out. Dad taught us this. Give the enemy exactly what they want and they'll come, they'll come like a horse to water, and then you can take them all out. But that isn't going to work. So that can't be what he was trying to do." Dean thought for a moment and then realization hit him. He knew exactly what Sam was trying to do.

"Anderson!" Dean screamed and took off at a full sprint to the debriefing room. "Anderson!" he yelled again.

"Dean?" A tall blond exited the room. Worried expression clouding his eyes. "What is it?"

"Did you go inside the meadow?" Dean was a born and bred liar and he could recognize the trait in others. "Be honest. Did you go inside the meadow?"

The blond shifted, looked uneasy. "Yeah. We all went in there."

"All of you?"

"Yeah," Anderson said nervously and shifted from one foot to the other.

Dean's eyes widened and he took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face and hair "Okay."

"Was that wrong?" Asked the suddenly very worried Anderson.

"Dean?" Bobby asked.

"I bet they followed them. Sam would lure them to the meadow and then he would follow them back, take us out. They are probably surrounding us right now, they just can't get in because of the salt. But Sam can get in. He's not technically a demon."

"And if Sam gets in…" Bobby started. Dean licked his lips and nodded.

"Yeah. We are just simply screwed."

"I'll do a sweep."

Dean put a hand against Bobby's chest. "No. Wait. We need a plan."

"A plan?"

"Yes. Not having a plan is what got us into this whole mess in the first place." Dean said and walked away from the men. He went back to his war room, lit a candle and looked at the map. He needed a plan, a way to get out of this, a way of saving all of his people. He needed to protect them like he used to protect his brother. Point in fact he needed to protect them better than he protected his brother. He closed his eyes, tried to get the memories of his little brother, of his best friend, of his family out of his head. The memories just wouldn't go away. He leaned forward and rested his head on the table and mumbled. "God Sammy. What are you doing?"


	4. Action

The forces mobilized quickly, sparring no time once the order had been given by their most trusted general. Dean Winchester, unlike generals of old, pitched in, helped the men and women get things together, mobilized the troops and got the hell out of their protected little salt mine. They had to travel over twenty miles, on foot, without being detected by the demons, and most importantly Sam.

Everyone was standing by the exit and Dean looked at everyone. He walked up and down the line ensuring that everyone had their hex bag that guaranteed that no demon would be able to sniff them out.

"Okay, guys, this is going to be dangerous. The other mine that we are going to go to is twenty miles east. It is deeper in the ground than this one. I'll be bringing up the rear, I need you guys to follow Bobby, and listen to his orders, because for the time being, his orders are my orders, and they are to be followed as closely as you follow mine. Stay close, no one stray. We will stop as a group for bathroom breaks, no one just decide they are going to strike it out on their own and take a pit stop, we can't afford to lose any one of you. Be careful. Keep looking forward, do not look behind you, do not talk to anyone, just keep looking forward and move along. Listen to Bobby. Okay guys, let's head out." A round of nods and Bobby led the way out of their safe haven.

What Dean didn't tell the others was that he wasn't going to keep his hex bag, he was going to fall behind just a little at a time, and then when his group was out of sight, hours out of sight, he was going to go to the meadow, he was going to destroy the hex bag, and he was going to call his brother. He was going to end this once and for all, and if that meant tearing Sam to pieces and then shredding Ruby, he would do it, he would just have to do it no matter how much it hurt.

He followed his heard for an hour or two and then started slowly letting the group go ahead of him, and then he took a sharp left and headed for the meadow that had been described to him. He walked for hours, drinking sparingly from his thermos, and pushed himself hard, harder than he had since all of this went down. Every movement, every single footstep, he thought of Sam and the times they had together before this apocalypse, before Sam went off the dark deep end, and was his enemy instead of his brother, his friend, his world. Laughter shared, tears shared, wounds patched up, and stories remembered, all flowed through his mind as he walked, his old life, which he kept locked up in the back of his head kept coming to him, kept throwing itself at him. He missed that Sam, he missed his old life, but that was the past. The boy with the floppy hair, the man with the shaggy hair and puppy dog eyes no longer existed, there was a demon behind those hazel eyes and it was wearing his brother's face. It had fooled him once before, but it wouldn't succeed again. There weren't many humans left—living, breathing human beings. His rag tag team was it. He had to keep them alive, he had to stop the evil, had to stop his brother, he had to let him go.

He arrived at the meadow without pomp or circumstance. A bird chirped and that was the only sound that indicated that anything in this luscious green paradise noticed his arrival. Dean's breath hitched as he looked out over the grass, saw a deer and it's child grazing in the distance, he closed his eyes and breathed in deep when the wind blew and his shaggy hair was taken with it, blowing out of his face. The air was sweet, smelled of woods, and back roads and everything that had been good about the Earth before…before Hell rose up and set things a blaze, and obliterated anything soft and gentle residing upon it.

He took just a moment to sit down on the grass, then lie down, and just relish in the softness and the beauty of it. He looked up into the sky that was blue, and not an unnatural shade of red and allowed the sunlight to kiss his skin.

His purpose rose to the front of his mind again, telling him that he couldn't just stay here and enjoy the comforts any longer, he had a job to do, and he needed to get busy. So, he sat up, pulled the hex bag from his satchel, destroyed the contents, and then pulled his demon killing knife out of the bag and looked down and sighed. He rolled up his pants leg and cut a thin line in his left leg, and allowed the blood to touch the grass.

It didn't take but a minute before he heard. "I wondered how long it would take you to come Dean." He didn't dare look, he knew, Sam was here.


	5. Plan

"Hey Sam." Dean said standing to his full height. "So, you got the demon juice now to disappear and reappear whenever. That's cool." He said dispassionately.

"Oh, I got a lot more when I signed on to this."

"I'm sure you did. All the demon blood you can drink, free of charge, and any monster you can bang." Dean said walking towards the man that used to be his brother.

"Your silly little jibes don't bother me any more Dean. And the fact that you still think they do says that you don't fully appreciate the situation you're in."

"Oh, trust me. I fully appreciate.." he spat out the last two words "my situation. I see people die, I remember what this world used to look like. I remember…" he gestured to the paradise around him. "When this, wasn't just an illusion cooked up by a demon to get my attention."

"So, you do remember?" Sam asked and stalked towards his brother.

"Oh, I remember. I remember how you drug my ass out here when I was seventeen, handed me a football and said 'Dean, normal brothers play foot ball, they don't go bow hunting.' And you taught me, or at least I let you think you were teaching me, how to play foot ball. The question isn't do I remember, it is do you?"

"Oh I remember. I remember everything. You and dad forcing me…"

"Wait, let's not do this okay Sam. I don't want to hear the whole Dad speech. I don't want you to list my faults, and then by obligation, me list yours and then point out the fact that you haven't actually seen through human eyes in years…yeah. Let's just skip it."

"So you want to just skip to the part where I kill you?" Dean laughed a little.

"Yeah, I'm guessing I want to see if your little demon tricks have made you a better fighter."

"Oh, I was a better fighter before I took command, I just didn't want to…"

"What? Hurt me? Well hell Sammy. Why didn't you say so?" Dean rolled his eyes. "Really though Sam. This has to end."

"It will. All you have to do is give up your little rag tag army of frail humans, and come and help me lead the army, the true army." Sam's eyes danced with excitement.

"Nah. I'm good. Plus, you know me. I always root for the underdog. Why stop now?"

***

"Where's Dean?" Melody asked from the middle of the line.

"Don't look back. He said not to." Amanda shushed.

"He also said to stay quiet but I don't see either of you listening to that." Mark said from behind.

"We need to ask Bobby." Melody said and turned and tapped the person in front of her, asked, and told them to pass it forward. It took some time but Bobby finally heard the question and sighed. He wondered how long it would take before people realized that their leader had diverged from the pack.

Bobby had argued long and hard with Dean about this particular course of action. Dean claimed that Sam was expecting this, that he was egging him on. Bobby countered that the people in his charge needed him to help them through this disaster. Dean's final and most powerful counter argument had been that if he was successful these people would never be in danger ever again. They could go on and live their lives and have children, have lives and eventually build the grounds on which the future would stand. Dean felt that, that was more important than his life or is sanity.

So, here he was, at the head of the line looking at a man with expectant eyes, and he finally said. "Dean has a plan. And part of that plan is for us to get to safety. So, come on. He gave us orders and we need to follow them. You can pass that info down the line there." Bobby said and hoped that it was laced with enough authority that no one would challenge it, because he honestly didn't know what he would do if over two hundred people wanted to turn back and look for their lost general. Dean had earned more trust in the last year than any leader of the free world. Bobby smirked. Sometimes that boy amazed even him.


	6. Stop It

Melody got the information passed back to her and her eyes narrowed. That was a bull shit answer, one designed for them just in case they noticed that Dean went missing.

"No." She said softly. Then a little more loudly and forcefully "No! I will not go forward and hide while he is out there fighting for us." She said as she stopped dead in her tracks. The line stopped behind her and slowly people in front of her stopped and turned.

"Melody now isn't the time for this." Bobby said as he approached her.

"No. Our leader is out there, going to get himself killed as a distraction. He knows he had no chance in hell of winning a confrontation with him. He knows it, we know it. Sam is too strong, the demons are on their own playing field. He's just buying us time. I don't accept that. If he goes down, we all go down. I say we go find him and fight. I want a piece of the bastard that did this to us."

"That "bastard" is his brother. This is family business."

"Oh no it isn't. This quit being family business when that man became what he is. That is when this became a world issue. And we're all that's left Singer, it makes it our business." Bobby couldn't argue with that logic. "Now I'm going back there and I'm going to help him. I don't care whose with me and who's not. I'm going." Melody turned on her heel and started in the other direction, and slowly, one by one people turned to join her. Bobby shook his head, didn't seem to matter what was going on in the world, people still followed Dean Winchester. It was just a shame that when it counted, Sam hadn't followed as well.

***

"Let's get this fight done with." Dean said. "I'm tired of it hanging over my head."

"Wishing that you had killed me when you had the chance?"

"No. Just wishing that I had been able to save you."

"I was saved. Just not in the way you wanted me to be."

"Whatever. Stop talking just fight." Sam shrugged.

"If that's what you want dear brother." And that commenced the battle. Dean didn't have a fighting chance. Sam threw him against a tree with a flick of a finger, and the wind was completely knocked out of him. And before Dean knew what hit him, Sam was hitting him, pounding his face with his fist, blow after blow. He felt teeth shatter, and blood flow freely from his face. He heard his nose break and just before the last life ending blow landed on his face, he saw his brother's eyes glisten with unnatural joy and he heard Melody and several others shout, his flock had come, they had come to help, and they had just ran into the slaughter house, the end was near for all and his end was especially close, and then Sam's fist landed the death blow to Dean's face.

***

"You have to stop it." Castiel said when Dean startled awake. Dean turned and saw no one other than his little brother sitting up and reaching for the light.

"You okay Dean?" Sam asked, eyes normal concerned hazel.

"Horrible dream Sammy. I'm okay. Go back to bed."

"I haven't slept yet." Sam left the words "the demon blood is making me jittery" off. It tended to enrage Dean and cause awkward silences that took hours to break. And Dean realized for the first time what the words "you have to stop it" meant. It didn't mean that he had to stop something mystical or magical. He had to stop distrusting his brother, had to stop keeping him at arms length, because if he did the world from his dreams would certainly become a reality.

"Come on Sammy, let's go to that all night diner down the road and get some pancakes, that should put us to sleep." He said as a peace offering. They had to start somewhere, no he had to start somewhere. Sam looked at him confused and it made Dean's chest ach. His brother didn't trust him any more than he trusted Sam.

"Dean…"

"Come on Sammy. Just like old times." He said and with no room for argument, he got up and headed to the bathroom, they would start the healing today. If for no one else, than those people he was responsible for. Melody and others like her didn't deserve to die, because he held a grudge. _Baby steps. Baby steps_. He told himself and grabbed a towel.

End


End file.
